Red Ragtop
by RemyLeVampiress
Summary: Romy Anna and Remy were just a young couple hopelessly in love with one another. Then after a night that starts out innocent enough their lives are changed forever. Warning: This story features allusions to abortion. Do not read if offended by it.Songfic


Disclaimer: I don't own Gambit or Rogue, or as they're referred to in this story Remy and Anna, nor do I own Mystique (Raven) or Destiny (Irene). They all belong to Marvel. This is a song fic and as such I do not own "Red Ragtop" from which I drew inspiration, that goes to Tim McGraw. The content of this story alludes to abortion as in the song, wither you do or do not support it I feel I should warn everyone ahead of time so they can decide wither or not to read it.

_I was twenty and she was eighteen  
We were just about as wild as we were green  
In the ways of the world  
She'd pick me up in that red ragtop  
We were free of the folks and hiding from the cops  
On a summer night  
Running all the red lights  
We'd park way out in a clearing in a grove  
And the night was as hot as a coal-burning stove  
We were cooking with gas  
Knew it had to last._

A loud banging on the door rattled the picture frame hanging on the wall of the bathroom. "Come on Remy, hurry up!" shouted Henri through the door, "Y' takin' too long. Otha' people need t' use d'bathroom too y'know." Inside the bathroom stood the tall and lithe figure of Remy Etienne LeBeau, a fine figure of twenty years with fiercely glowing red on black eyes, a chiseled face and body and thick auburn hair that fell in his eyes no matter how hard he tried to comb it back. Remy laughed at his brother through the door, "Oui mon frere, but not ever'one has a belle femme t' look dey best for."

He splashed on his cologne, and tried once again to comb back his hair. The strands of auburn fell once more in his eyes causing Remy to make a disgruntled face, the one that Anna always said was so cute. At the thought of her Remy began to grin wildly and hurried to finish getting ready. The sound of a horn drifted in from an open window in the Guild house, but given it's close proximity to the streets of New Orleans Remy couldn't be sure if it was Anna or not. It was her turn to drive them around; at least that's what she said.

From the moment they first met Anna had been stubborn and independent. When they had started dating she demanded that they take turns driving places, paying for one another, everything. One of Remy's favorite things to do when they went out was to see if he could slip the money for his portion into Anna's pocket without her knowing when she was paying. Sometimes was easier than others, he could just pull her close, slip his hands into her back pockets and when he removed them later the money would be deposited for her to find later. Of course there was the time when he got caught and she would call even in the middle of the night and fuss at him, though he knew she wasn't really upset.

"Remy!" he heard his father Jean-Luc call from downstairs, "Anna's here." Remy threw on a black cotton shirt and slung the bathroom door open almost hitting Henri who tried to throw a punch at his brother as he sped past but missed. Jumping the last few stairs Remy landed gracefully right in front of his father and a young woman with wavy brown hair just past her shoulders and green eyes that sparkled like the finest emeralds. She was just a few inches shorter than he was, her body was soft and slender and at the age of eighteen she already had the generous curves of a woman. Remy pulled her to him and planted a kiss on her lips without regard for anyone watching. "Bon jour mon chere." He greeted her warmly. Anna laughed and shoved him away lightly "Come on Rem, not in front of y' Pa."

"Wha'? Papa don' care none cher, who you t'ink I learn from?" Remy said grinning wickedly. Anna laughed, rolling her eyes, "Whateva' sugah, let's go. Bye Mr. LeBeau." Jean-Luc smiled and waved to Anna "Au revoir petite, don' let him getcha in too much trouble now."

An hour later Remy and Anna were speeding out of New Orleans, heading for the country, in her old red convertible. As usual they had run into some trouble in town with the cops, which wasn't unusual when you dated a member of the Thieves Guild, it was to be expected even. One of the officers had been looking for Remy and when he spotted the two he shouted for them to stop, which of course Remy and Anna just took off running for her car, gunning it through the city without even stopping for red lights. There had been a few close calls, but that just made it exhilarating, Anna's adrenaline was pumping. It was one of the things she loved about Remy, it was never boring, there was always something exciting happening.

They pulled off the main road and onto a dirt road that had lead to a secluded grove not far from where Anna's adopted mother Raven had a country place for when she wanted to get away from the city. Anna had always loved it and had shown it to Remy not too long ago. It was where they went when they wanted time to themselves, to find a simple peace to enjoy one another that couldn't be found in the bustling city of New Orleans.

Night had fallen, crickets and tree frogs echoed in the hot summer air, the stars sparkling like diamonds above them where they were lounged against one another in the back seat of her ragtop. Remy's arms were wrapped around Anna's waist and he placed a kiss on the top of her head, "One day Remy gonn' buy y' a diamond dat'll outshine even da stars chere." He grabbed her left hand and held it up, pointing to her ring finger, "A big one dat'll go right there." Remy said, "Den one fo' each otha' finger too." Anna smiled, "Fo' real Remy? That's mighty ambitious of y', but there's one condition. Y' can't steal none o' them." She said, sitting up a little and turning so that she was laying face to face with him now. Remy captured her lips with his own in a deep kiss Anna had learned long ago meant he was hungry for something more, he pulled back, his lips barely brushing her own, "A challenge chere, but one Remy be up for."

_In the back of that red ragtop  
She said please don't stop_

Remy's hands ran over her bottom and up beneath the back of her shirt, caressing her smooth skin. His jeans got tighter as Anna started kissing on his neck, nibbling at his ear and he was sure she could feel it. Remy knew for certain when he felt Anna press against him. Peeling Anna's shirt off and tossing it in the front seat, he moved in on the white lace bra she wore. Her nipples were hard, teasing him through the sheer fabric. Remy propped up on his elbows, kissing the exposed curves of her breast just above the lace, his kisses lowered until he caught her nipple in his mouth and nipped at it through the material. Anna gasped, her fingers running through his hair encouragingly.

She was putty in his hands, Anna's gasps and moans like music to Remy's ears as he teased her. Anna squirmed against him, hardly able to control herself. If he would just move on to the next part, but every time she thought he would strip the rest of her clothes off Remy would stop just long enough for the feeling to ease. "Remy" she whispered, "please, don't stop this time, I can't stand you're teasing." Anna said with a throaty laugh. Remy laughed with her, having pushed himself to his own limits, he couldn't hold back any longer. Reaching down between them he worked the button and zipper of Anna's jeans.

_Well the very first time her mother met me  
Her green-eyed girl had been a mother-to-be  
for two weeks  
I was out of job and she was in school  
And life was fast and the world was cruel  
We were young and wild  
We decided not to have the child  
So we did what we did and we tried to forget  
And we swore up and down there would be no regrets  
In the morning light  
But on the way home that night_

Anna sat pale faced in her car parked out front of the two story house that she called home. Remy sat next to her, usually calm and cool under all circumstances even Remy was a little nervous. Two weeks ago Anna had been sitting in the bathroom at the Guild house with Remy. Most everyone was out tending to their own things, leaving the two alone. She sat on the edge of the tub holding a white stick in her hand staring down at it. Remy was knelt down in front of her looking at her anxiously. "Blue." She said in a shaky voice. Just like that, one word had changed their lives. Just as Remy had done that day, now he reached over to her and kissed her softly on the lips, "It gone be jus' fine chere. We'll get through dis." Anna shook her head, "You don' know Mama sugah, she's gonna be madder than a wet hen."

They sat in her car for another five minutes, Anna gripping Remy's hand for strength. Both of them took a deep breath and got out the car. Before they even reached the door it opened and there stood a tall red head who's face was as cold as her icy blue eyes. Remy felt like a bug under a magnifying glass, the woman's eyes like a laser burning through him with obvious distaste and hatred. He cleared his throat and stuck out his hand, "Miss Darkholme, It's a pleasure to meet you." Anna's mother looked down at Remy's hand, not offering her own. Her cold blue eyes fixed on Anna, the emotion in them changing to hatred to one of sad disappointment, though her face remained cold all the same. "This is who you chose to spawn children with?" Anna's green eyes filled with hurt, "Mama…" she whispered.

An angry look come across Remy's face, but before he could respond a voice called gently from within the other room. "Raven, let the children in." Miss Darkholme, Raven, stood in their way a moment longer before stepping aside.

In a room set off from the entry way sat a woman with shoulder length brown hair in a rocking chair, staring out the window with grey sightless eyes. Remy knew this was Anna's other mother, Raven's partner Irene. It was rumored that she had the ability to see things yet to come, wither it was true or not Remy wasn't for sure, but he knew his Tante Mattie had often spoke of a white woman who was gifted with the sight, not one of them phony psychics, but the real powerful seer type of person. "Good afternoon Mr. LeBeau, we're pleased Anna finally brought home the boy she talks about so much." She said softly.

Remy smiled even though Irene couldn't see it, "Thank y' mam." He said. Anna smiled, feeling a little better. She was so thankful that Irene was there, it was her backup against Raven. Anna loved Raven dearly, had loved her since the day she adopted her years ago, but Raven thought Remy wasn't good enough for Anna, any time Anna mentioned him Raven would start lecturing about not raising her daughter to keep company with Thieves. Such a deep hatred for someone she didn't even know, sometimes Anna suspected that maybe Raven had some sort of predated grudge with the Thieves Guild. They never talked about it much, but Anna knew that in the past, before she had come into Raven's life, that Raven had been into some very dark things. "Come, sit down please." Irene said.

Anna and Remy sat down on a love seat by the window near Irene, Raven came behind her lover striking an intimidating figure. "What do you intend on doing about this LeBeau?" Raven asked icily. Remy locked eyes defiantly with Raven's, "I'm gon' do what's right, Darkholme. I'm gon' take care o' Anna an' the baby." Anna noticed Remy dropped his third person habit, speaking in first person as he did so often when he was serious. Raven huffed, "You? You don't even have a real job boy, not to mention that Anna is still in school. Have you thought about that, have you considered how you've ruined whatever life she may have had planned for her?" she said.

"Mama don't talk t' him like that! It takes two people t' tango." Anna said, unable to just sit there and let her mother talk down to Remy like that. Irene's head turned to the side, "Raven calm down, Anna's life is no..." but Raven interrupted Irene and if she had gotten to the point that she ignored even Irene's words Anna knew that it was hopeless.

"That's right Anna! Have either of you thought about what you're getting yourselves in to? The responsibilities that come with being a parent? No, you haven't. Not in the long term sense you haven't. I'm sure the two of you haven't thought past the baby being born, that's when it all really begins though, but you two can't handle it. I want it known right now that I will not help either of you should you choose to have this child, in fact let it be known now that I am firmly set against you having it at all!" Raven said, her voice rising with each sentence, growing angrier each passing moment.

Anna sat in stunned silence. She knew Raven wasn't happy about the situation, but she didn't know how dead set against it she was. Anna felt the tears coming, but she couldn't let Raven see them, tears had never been acceptable in Raven Darkholme's house, they were a sign of weakness. Unable to control herself any longer Anna bolted out the room just as the tears began to fall. Remy ran after her "Anna!" They left two only the sound of a slamming door in their wake.

Two more weeks after that, Anna and Remy were once again holding one another in the back of her car underneath the stars, only this time the emotions were the polar opposite of the passion they had felt last time they had been there. Remy had driven there and back for her, Anna had been too nervous to drive there, and felt too sickly afterwards. She was curled up against him, her head resting on his shirt stained with her tears, she was pale and shaky; Anna had finally stopped crying and Remy was glad, it broke his heart to see her like that. Just hours before they had gone to the clinic where Raven had called in a favor to keep it all hush hush. Their child was no longer with them; its tiny fetus body had been ripped apart and destroyed, removed from her body. They had promised one another that they wouldn't regret it. Raven had been right, they weren't ready to be parents, they were too young. Anna was still in school and planned on going to college, Remy's family 'business' sometimes carried him on jobs far away on dangerous trips. They sat silently just holding on to one another, but Remy felt for some reason as if Anna were slipping away from him even though she was right there, and Anna too secretly felt that along with the baby, she had already lost Remy, they just didn't know it yet.

_From the back of that red ragtop  
She said please don't stop loving me_

The feeling of losing Remy became too strong, Anna began to panic, her heart racing and breaking at the same time. "Remy!" she said clutching his shirt in her hands, looking at him with fearful and desperate eyes, "Promise me, promise me y' won't stop lovin' me jus' cause of this." Remy took her face in his hands, his voice shaking with emotion, "Course I won't stop lovin' y' chere. I always love y' no matter what." He sealed his words with a kiss that was deeper than any they had shared before, and in that kiss were the unspoken words between them. It was the manifestation of their fear, their need, and their sorrow. They held the kiss, afraid to let it end, afraid to face the truth they were both now running from.

_We took one more trip around the sun  
But it was all make believe in the end  
And no I can't say where she is today  
I can't remember who I was back then_

Well you do what you do and you pay for your sins  
And there's no such thing as what might have been  
That's a waste of time  
Drive you out of your mind

They ran from the truth for one more year, both in a deep seeded denial that it was over between them. While they still loved one another things had just changed too much. After they had gone to the clinic things just weren't the same. Remy lost track of Anna after she moved away to some school up north, he tried a few times to get her contact information, but Raven refused to give it to him and Irene would not go against Raven's decision. For a while he beat himself up over everything that had happened, thinking about things he could have done different, that Anna could have done different, but eventually he had to push it to the back of his mind. It had started interfering with his life, all his debating over what if's, his work suffered, his father worried over him, knowing that something had happened between his son and Anna, but he never knew what. After a year or two Remy had learned to put it behind him, or at least not think about what had happened, or even Anna.

_I was stopped at a red light just yesterday  
Beside a young girl in a cabriolet  
And her eyes were green  
And I was in an old scene _

I was back in that red ragtop  
On the day she stopped loving me  
I was back in that red ragtop  
On the day she stopped loving me

Five years later Remy was in Westchester County in New York to visit friend named Ororo Munroe, she had mentioned the school she worked at and wanted Remy to come see if he might not like to work there as well, she had mentioned something about the school being the right place for someone with his abilities. Remy had walked away from the Guild; New Orleans had just held too much pain for him to remain there any longer. He still did a few jobs on the side when he needed the money, but ever since that day, Raven's words had haunted him, it was time for a real job. He wasn't exactly the teacher type, he doubted there was anything he could do but show the rug rats how to pick some pockets, but Ororo had insisted that he come and see what the school was _really_ about, whatever that meant.

His Harley rumbled as Remy waited for the stop light to change, the traffic he had left behind at the last stop light finally catching up to him. A bright red car pulled up on his left catching his eye. Remy glanced over, immediately wishing that he hadn't. A Cabriolet, just like Anna used to have. A young woman was driving the car; she had long and straight brown hair with an unusual streak of white down the front. In the split second after she turned her head and Remy snapped his attention back to the front of the road, he could have swore that her eyes were the same green as Anna's. The light changed to red and Remy gunned his Harley, taking off in a deafening roar to try and escape the memory that was coming to him. The memory of the night when he lost a future with the one woman he had ever truly loved.


End file.
